Please let me preface by saying I am totally not sympathetic to the Syrian regime. Nor do I really sympathize with the rebels. I think the whole region is fucked up and most of the people seem pretty crazy but I appreciate the oppositions heart and balls to fight against an oppressive dictatorship.

That said, I am having a hard time buying all the headlines and rhetoric going around right now.

Note the basic premise for war in the star wars saga? Both sides were played by the emperor to start a war. Also, for the most part, the two sides were created by the emperor.

While it is hard to simply trust a dictators word, currently they say they did not do it and Russia is backing them up. We say they did do it. All we seem to have at this point is the fact that chemical weapons were used.

Here are my questions:

Do we know for sure that Assad or his generals orders the strike as part of a military campaign?

Do we know for sure that this wasn't an attack by an unknown 3rd party who stands to gain from a fight between the US and Syria (or more)?

Do we know for sure that this isn't a rogue terror plot from within the Assad regime or the opposition (yes, I think there could be someone who is willing to kill their own sides women and children to frame the government and get the US to act)

While I am certain the POTUS knows far more about what is going on than we do you would think he understands that going to war without providing the general public with more proof than talking points isn't the right way to do it.

Without knowing the answers to my questions above it just seems wildly careless to just start killing common soldiers with missiles as retribution.